An Invitation to All

If “seeking wisdom, nourishing faith, engaging community” describes your journey of heart and mind, St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute is for you. We invite you to join a vibrant learning community of women and men who are pursuing professional excellence and personal growth through graduate theological study.

Since 1968, St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute has offered master’s degrees to part-time students with full-time lives. Most of our students are from the Christian tradition; about a third are Catholics, a third mainline Protestants, a third evangelical or non-denominational, and occasionally we have Jewish, Unitarian, or agnostic students. Some students already have positions in ministry, some are pursuing ordination, and some are studying for more personal reasons. All are welcome.

Our faculty is just as diverse and strongly committed to the value of learning with and from an ecumenical faith community. They excel in their academic fields, in our classes, and, in many cases, in professional ministries as well. You will find them welcoming and supportive in your journey.

For the past three years, we have been considering theological education as a form of friendship—with God and with one another. So we invite you to peruse our website, to contact us for more information or a campus visit, and to consider making new friends.

Sincerely,

Rev. Brent Laytham, PhD Dean

Fr. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S. President Rector

“After one night, I was hooked. The EI has been a perfect fit for a very busy journalist, father, and pastor.”

Founded in 1791, St. Mary's Seminary & University is the first Catholic seminary established in the United States. For over two hundred years, St. Mary’s has been owned and operated by the Sulpician Fathers, a community of diocesan priests dedicated to the formation of priests.